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Appliances aren’t made like they used to.
I remember the day we got our very first washing machine. It was an olive-green, Maytag top loading washing machine. I must have been around 8 or 9 years old.
When I moved my parents out of their home in 2002, that Maytag was still working. We left it there for the young couple who purchased the house because they didn’t have one.
That machine worked for 33 years without a single problem. What a gem!
Today, appliances are not made to have that much of a shelf life. Ever wonder how long they’ll last? Life expectancy varies with usage, weather, installation, maintenance and quality of materials.
Here’s the scoop on how long you can expect your appliances to last:
1. Clothes Dryers: 13 years
2. Washing Machines: 5 -15 years (I guess our little Maytag did pretty well for itself)
3. Furnace: 10 -15 years
4. Garbage Disposal: 12 years
5. Refrigerator: 9-13 years
6. Freezer: 10 -20 years
7. Ceiling Fan: 5-10 years
8. Attic Fan: 15 -20 years
9. Air Conditioner (window unit): 5 -7 years
10. Central Vacuum: 20 years
11. Electric Range: 13 -5 years
12. Gas Range: 10 -18 years
13. Dishwasher: 9 years
14. Central Air: 7 -15 years
15. Security System: 5 – 20 years
16. Gas Fireplace: 15 -25 years
17. Microwave: 9 years
18. Water Heater: 6 -12 years
For the most part my appliances have withstood the test of time. Most supersede the time lines given by a significant amount.
For example, my heating system is over 30 years old. I’m waiting for it to die before I replace it, but for now it continues to hum along and works just fine.
My kitchen appliances are all 15 years old. I only know this because they all got replaced at the same time when I redid the kitchen.
My washing machine and dryer are both 16 years old.
The ceiling fan in my bedroom, was over 30 years old and just died last month. I woke up in the middle of the night because I was hot. I got up, yanked on the chain and went back to bed. A few moments later, I heard a pop, spit and buzzing, saw sparks flying and smelled something burning. It was officially dead. Scared the daylights out of me and kept me up the remainer of the night because I was scared my house was going to burn down!
I’d say I got every bit of life out of that fan!
I think what I’m realizing here is, either all my appliances are going to die around the same time, or I’ve been fortunate that what I purchase is high enough quality that I get the life expectancy of the appliance plus a few more years.
More importantly, I believe in taking good care of what I own and when you do, it’s almost assured that things will last longer.
I don’t abuse my stuff and make sure to clean and maintain what needs to be maintained. Each year I have my heating and central air conditioner cleaned and “tuned up” as to ensure a long life.
Things are expensive and we should be able to squeeze every last bit of life out of what we paid good money for.
Hold old are your appliances? Any you would recommend or stay away from?
